Sonny Stitt - Stitt's Bits: The Bebop Recordings, 1949-1952 [3CD Box Set] (2006)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 684 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 530 MB | Covers - 103 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Prestige Records (0888072300439)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 684 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 530 MB | Covers - 103 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Prestige Records (0888072300439)
The rap on Sonny Stitt is that he was little more than an imitator of Charlie Parker, without a firm identity of his own. However, from the evidence of these early Stitt recordings - gathered together into a three-CD box - the first part of the rap doesn't quite ring true, though the second remains an open question. Stitt may have shared an occasional rhetorical turn or blindingly fast run with Bird - most tellingly on "S`Wonderful" - but definitely not his entire style. You can hear plenty of Lester Young influences on the tracks where he plays tenor sax, and many of the ballads preview the soulful inflections that would flourish when he joined the soul-jazz movement in the '60s. Moreover, aware of the Bird backlash, Stitt recorded the majority of these tracks on the tenor, with occasional sessions on the baritone and finally, about two-thirds of the way through the set, on alto…